> What could Hubble see on Earth if it were to be aimed at the Earth?
...
> it can be shown that Hubble could just make out something that is 5.56 inches wide on Earth.
I found that quite odd. I've always heard that spy satellites could read the headline on a newspaper. Why would the Hubble be so much worse? That makes the math in the article a little suspect.
The claims about what spy satellites can see have been exaggerations at least since the 1960s. They are still exaggerations today. I hope everybody knows that the "satellite" view on Google Maps is from conventional aerial photos (taken from airplanes) as you zoom in.
I found that quite odd. I've always heard that spy satellites could read the headline on a newspaper. Why would the Hubble be so much worse? That makes the math in the article a little suspect.